Nozaki Miyazato
"When does a legend become a myth? When no man is left standing to tell the tale." Miyazato Nozaki didn't get to where he is today by being a push over. Quick to make decisions, quick to call out arrogance and stupidity no matter the others position, quick to judge the input of others, and even quicker to relieve an incompetent Captain of command, many surmise it is why Nozaki and his Second-in-Command Brandán Yamanaka work so well. Personality A leader to be feared when he steps aboard ones ship, any trace of weakness or incompetence is easily picked up by the man and honed in on to the source. This knack to see the wrong extends in the opposite direction as well. He has a keen eye for talent both small and large in his Navy. Unafraid to remove aging and old captains stuck in their ways for younger men more willing to adapt and learn. He has gained many enemies throughout his career with this approach to his position, but has gained far more able and loyal allies in the process. It is no secret that Miyazato Nozaki distrusts the new rule of the Empire as he has made it clear on a few occasions, but it doesn't mean he has deemed them incompetent and instead he strives to better his Navy and in turn the Empire he serves. History Born to a Miyazato family of missionaries, Nozaki spent much of his young life learning the intricacies of the Way of Fire, being taught in things such as reading and writing, and even customer service in relation to his parents Inn Hamakaze. The Inn itself is nestled inbetween Yakimara lands to the West and Cho lands to the East, right up against the Southern coast of the Fire Country. He spent much of his free time at the the small fishing village close to his home and would watch curiously as the fisherman would come back from their outings and unload their catches. The sea constantly enticing him to go out as he watched on in excitement. By sixteen Nozaki had been groomed and taught to take over both the family Inn and the family Shrine of the same name, as well he had fallen for a young Shrine Maiden by the name of Yui. Both families quickly agreed to Nozaki's request to marry Yui, and a short period of peaceful life began as Nozaki took over the Shrine for three years, Yui raised there two oldest children and was later taught how to manage and run the Inn by Nozaki's mother. In the span of those three years Nozaki found himself increasingly burdened by the duties of leading the Shrine and his almost weekly visits to the small fishing town of his childhood began to dwindle and his dreams of the sea went with it. Nozaki led the shrine for another seventeen years. By now his children were considered full adults, and his third was only two years from becoming an adult. His oldest son, Taiki had moved out and begun a family of his own while his daughter worked hand-in-hand with her mother to run the Inn and supervise the Shrine Maidens in training. It was the year 460, and rumors of small skirmishes and engagements between forces of large countries began to circulate through the Inn and even some visitors brought tales, simple things they had heard in their travels from others of a war broiling between the Wind and Earth countries. It was far off, unimportant, Nozaki had his family, his Shrine to tend to. 461 changed that notion. The war had escalated, and in the short period in between the Fire Country had seemed to accidentally entangle itself in the growing conflict. The Daimyo put out a call for able-bodied men and women, and the noble Clans did as well. Nozaki's son went first, eager to fight for his lands and the future of his fledgling family, Nozaki followed suit shortly after when a simple visit to the fishing village of his youth turned into an enlistment in the pitiful Navy of the Fire Country. Whether it was some surpressed childhood dream to get on a ship and sail to far shores, fighting all the way, or a misconstrued sense of duty to the country that hadn't done much for him, Nozaki found himself standing aboard a ship just a few months later at the age of 36. The Captain of the vessel immediately picked out the older man arriving in his new cadre of fresh sailors. He was visibly older than the rest, spoke with a more educated tone, and could read and write with a practiced ease that the Captain took him in to be trained as the ships purser almost immediately. Spending his time below deck balancing pay, setting right the ships inventory, and even learning how to plot on maps in his free time, Nozaki couldn't help but feel he had made the wrong decision. Surrounded by young men, eager and fit for battle he was a sore in their sides. The crew began referring to him as "The Old Man" due to his age and lack of strength compared to the rest of them and before long Nozaki had distanced himself from them to save from their incessant torment. He had almost completely forgotten that they were at war. Ships to their starboard side. Six all together. A retinue of Water Country galleys rowed hard for them just a few kilometers away, the Captain began preparing his ship for battle, and the two other ships in their small flotilla did the same. Nozaki did as he had been trained, donning the heavy armor and his shortsword that were meant only to protect the ship in case of boarding and taking his place on the deck, close to the Captain as the other jobs that had less to do with combat did. They turned to face their foe, their small pitiful longships were to be no match for the galleys ahead of them. Still, they pressed on. The battle would see two Fire Country longships limp back to their homeport. Battered and beaten, they had escaped the engagement only with speed on their side. Nozaki was bloody and bruised, most of the crew had died defending off a Water Country boarding attempt, and the Captain was mortally injured. In his dying throws the Captain named his First Mate as the new Captain, and surprisingly, Nozaki as the new First Mate. Something about Nozaki's older view on the world had place a trust between the two aging men early on, and apparently it had been enough to earn him a much higher position than he ever anticipated. While their ship was repaired and their stock of crew replenished, Nozaki was drilled and learned in the true ways of sailing. In the peculiarities of combat at sea. In the intricate dance of ships facing off. He learned over the next few years and through the fires of small engagements what it meant to lead at sea, what it took. By the end of the war Nozaki had been given command of his own longship for the planned invasion of the Water Country. He thought it a fools folly, but he didn't express it, he didn't want to ruin his chance at leadership. His chance to continue to advance in the ranks. The invasion succeeded and his position as a Captain was cemented by the success. Following the Great War Nozaki returned home for a short period of time only to inform his wife that he would not be returning to his duties as the Head of the Shrine for his new career in the navy. She reluctantly agreed to support him and took over as the head of both the Shrine and Inn while he went off to play Sailor. With the end of the war many sailors and captains turned in their resignations or were forced out fo the service as their manpower was no longer needed, but Nozaki stayed. Slowly building a name for himself. With the Imperial Reform and his subsequent years of service Nozaki found himself in the pool of candidate for Lord Admiral of the Royal Navy. This time, much to his liking rather than his surprise promotion to First Mate, he was chosen. After this Nozaki began to work closely with the First Commandant of the Royal Marines, his younger counterpart Brandán Yamanaka, their plans to further develop their small and outdated navy into a force to be reckon with have grown over time and they are finally finding themselves in a position to take action and restore what pride and glory they had during the Great War and gain more to come. Skills * Perceptive * Great Sense of Direction * Skilled Navigator * Experienced Captain * Knows Chonobi in relation to sailing and other very simple words. Category:Empire of Akino Category:Taika Category:Miyazato Clan Category:NPC Roster Category:Royal Navy